A blog where celebrity fact and fiction collide...Interviews with a twist... Ever wonder what it would be like to go back into the woods with Betsy Baker (Evil Dead)? Back to H wing with Val Lehman (Queen Bea) or even have a sleep over with Heather Langenkamp (Nightmare on Elm Street)? Well here is where you can experience it in all it's glory...

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

A dead good evening with Betsy Baker

I was so
excited, Betsy Baker, the Betsy Baker, star of the original Evil Dead movie
agreed to do an interview with me! But why in such a secluded spot I wondered?
I couldn't find the place she mentioned on my GPS, so I had to take the
directions she had given me... It wasn't exactly a main high road and the only
landmark she had told me to look out for was a Chicken Shack, and I had passed
that about 20 minutes ago. I was looking for a turn in the road, but this road,
with only trees either side seemed to be going on forever. It didn't look too
bad in the light of day, but I wouldn't want to be alone here when the sun went
down.

After a few
more minutes I spotted it, I turned in... Great I thought, another track....

The path to
the cabin was rough and just big enough to get through, thank god for my old 4
wheel drive, I’d never of made it without her. She was also going to need a bit
of a wash after we got back, mind you, so was I!

After what
seemed like an eternity on this dust path I spotted something in the distance.
And log cabin with an old yellow car parked in front. The trees and shrubs around it looked over grown and
unkempt, this was certainly no Malibu beach hut… What the hell was I getting
myself into here?

But then,
like a mirage, there was Betsy, waving at me from what I presumed once
was a driveway. I pulled up in front of the house, her warm smile was
welcoming, but that was not even enough to steady my nerves, both from the
house and meeting Betsy Baker.

Betsy Baker
starred in Sam Raimi’s 1981 cult classic ‘The Evil Dead’, playing Linda, Bruce
Campbell’s girlfriend and eventual ghoul… After a break of 17 years she has
recently resumed her acting career, appearing in the awesome ‘Tim and Eric
Show’ and a cameo in Sam Raimi’s fantastical hit ‘Oz the Great and powerful’.

But to me
she will always be that crazy, doll faced ghoulish bitch from hell who was
decapitated with a shovel by her boyfriend…

We walked
into the cabin and immediately my flesh began to itch and spine crumble. As i entered my
trouser leg got caught on a loose nail on the doorway, ripping them at the ankle and lightly
scrapping my skin. I took a seat at the table and Betsy poured me a coffee made on an old wood stove, I would
have preferred something stronger but it would have to do.

I got out
my pad and my Dictaphone, I noticed a dusty old tape recorder on the desk near the table, a good back up, I thought, my recorder had been so unreliable lately.

Gathering
my thoughts and wiping away the spider that was making his home in my hair, I
took a large gulp of coffee and began my questions.

So how did
you get the part of Linda?

"Sam and Rob (Tapert) had contacted a talent agency I
was listed with; and asked them to contact me about their interest in meeting
me and having a discussion about the film."Ok, Ok... And when did you first meet Mr Raimi?" I first met Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert
and Bruce Campbell (Ash)... at a neighbourhood restaurant, where we talked
about the film, and they asked if I was interested.”

I suppose
inviting three strange men into your home for a first meeting wasn’t a safe
option… Mind you, meeting someone in an old cabin in the woods, wasn’t exactly
the Ritz either, which prompted my next question.

I heard
that the cabin in the woods, was really a cabin in the woods?

“The actual cabin was indeed in the woods ....”

Wow,
perfect setting then, how far was it from civilisation?

“It was at the end of the very same dirt road that the
car turns onto, and slowly drives into the woods. At the end of that
'driveway', was the cabin. The driveway was off of a paved road in the
countryside, a few miles from the local town.”

I felt my
ankle, I think that nail had done more damage than I initially thought …

Despite my
amazing company, this place was not welcoming. I had heard that most of the
cast had left before the end of the film, leaving Bruce Campbell to help out
with the filming and effects, as well as act, was this true?

“Many actors leave the film as soon as they are done
with their parts. All of the cast finished their roles - whether it was within
the first time frame they were in Tennessee, or if they picked up more scenes
later on during the filming.. which is what I did. I worked from the end of
October until nearly the end of December, and then did some more scenes the
following spring.”

And was
filming as bad as rumoured?

“It was freezing, cold, damp, rainy, and miserable
many, many nights. We had no heat in the cabin, no running water, no toilets.
No hot coffee, and with all the fake blood all over the set, didn't even have
clean coats or jackets to put on between takes.”

I looked
down at my drink, small blessings, I thought.

I flicked
through my notes and chose my next question wisely, not wanting to get too
distracted by the pain that was now coursing up my leg. I needed a laugh.

What was it
like working with Sam, Bruce, and the other cast and crew? Do you have any
funny anecdotes?

“Lots of funny times that we can look back at now ....
and laugh. We all became very close during our time in Tennessee; we lived
together, worked together, so therefor we were together 24-7. Many times we
were so tired and exhausted, that any little thing would set us off and make us
laugh. Then again, any little thing or frustration would also make us very mad,
too!”

I wasn’t
surprised, I was once trapped in a lift with 2 others for half an hour and
nearly went crazy, mind you having to listen to the
musac version of ‘The girl from Ipanema’ on a loop didn’t help the situation,
believe me, if there was someone there with a chainsaw, I’d be begging for a
decapitation.

Ooh,
talking of chainsaws…

Was it true
that Bruce used a real chainsaw on your neck?? (Or rather near your neck) that
must have been terrifying!

“Yes -- that is a mistake that I could have
unfortunately really, really regretted. I agreed to do it 'for the sake of the
scene', but would also be the first to admit it was probably one of the
stupidest things I have ever done in my life. Fortunately, they kept true to
their promise, and we only did 1 take.”

What about the
scene where the possessed Linda attempts to stab Ash with the dagger? Is it
true that you actually had no idea where he was. With your heavy, white contact
lenses preventing you from seeing?

“That is absolutely true. Neither Ellen, Theresa or I
could see anything while wearing the lenses.. so we had lots of rehearsals.
Bruce had to work just as hard to miss the dagger, knowing that I actually couldn't
see anything while trying to stab him. We had to very carefully count out the
running steps that it took to get closer to him up against the wall. A long
night.......”

My stupid Dictaphone
started playing up, I hit it against the table, it seemed to kick it back to
life, but for how long I wondered. Better get on with my questions…

Were the
guts really made out of creamed corn??! Were there any other interesting make
up recipes?

“Our great special effects man, Tom Sullivan, would be
best to have all those answers. But yes - we used everything from creamed corn,
to milk, to actual chicken bones from dinner the night before....”

Interesting…
I could just imagine the smell. I reached down to inspect my ankle again, this
time it felt strange… Crap, It was bleeding, Betsy found me a rag to tie round
it, but I was a professional, my questions came first, I made a mental note to
pop into the nearest chemist on my way back to my hotel.

Your make-up
changed halfway through the film, from green to the iconic doll like ghoul...

Why was this?

“Not everyone notices this! There is a scene in which
I am dragged out of the cabin, and my face is made up with a prosthetic mask.
All of us were fitted with them -- but after some discussion with Sam one night
on a set, I had suggested that Linda actually turn into a sickeningly sweet
baby doll character, very unnatural, and overly frighteningly sweet. It was
decided that night that we could probably portray Linda with blushing cheeks,
oversized lips, and oversized eyelashes, to appear more like a grotesque baby
doll.”

It was getting
dark outside now, time to speed up my questioning if I was going to make it out
ok.

I heard you
lost your eyelashes during the casting of your face!! How did that feel?? And

were there any other accidents on set?

“Painful! Yes -- while we were making the masks with
plaster, the plaster became very hot, very fast ( which it's supposed to do)..
but they had hard time removing it with ease, and it kept getting hotter and
hotter, so they basically had to forcefully rip it off my face... and the
eyelashes went with it! There were other scrapes and scratches, and Bruce broke
his ankle running down the hill one night. In some of the scenes, you can see
him limping.”

Do you love
the fact that people copy your makeup for Halloween? (I know I have!)

“Well - let's say it's very flattering... I guess!!”

It was true... Last years costume had been a big hit, and after i'd had a bit too much to drink, no one questioned me sitting in the corner laughing hysterically.

Bruce and
Sam are obviously still very close, but are you still in contact with them?

“As "Ladies Of The Evil Dead", going to
conventions, we often see Bruce. We don't see Sam as much .. although all 3 of
us worked together with him during the making of 'OZ -The Great and Powerful',
in which we all had a small cameo role.”

Looking
down, there was now pus coming from underneath the rag, not pleasant… and my
leg had started to numb. Betsy looked concerned and went to look for a first
aid kit. How could one scratch get infected so quickly and so badly but one
small nail? There was

something not quite right about this place, I was looking
forward to finishing up and leaving and hoped that Betsy was coming with me. Suddenly my Dictaphone,
spluttered and died… Crap, I thought, I was so near the end of the interview, I just had a
couple more questions to get through… Then I spied the tape recorder again… Maybe I could use
that? I hobbled over and grabbed it from the desk. It wasn’t
exactly high tech, a Panasonic reel to reel, but it would have to do. There was
already tape in it, I clicked it to play, Some professor
started talking about a discovery he’d made, I was intrigued and spellbound by
his words…

Betsy
called from the other room which shot me out of my trance… I checked my notes,
just one more question… One more question and I was ready to leave. My leg was killing me and the woods were dark…

Betsy, I
shouted… What was on that tape?

“The tape? On the tape recorder?? .... A warning... to
not do any of things we did, go outside into the woods, or even stay in the
cabin. Guess we didn't listen too well.. or follow the warnings!!”

The tape
continued to roll… Betsy remembered that she had a first aid kit in her car…
she left to get it…. The voice on the tape was warning us, don’t go outside… Oh
my god, I thought… This was that tape!!!

Betsy re-entered
the cabin, she stood in the doorway, her face pale and doll like, giggling like
a child… an axe in her hand……………………………

It's a great interview, you really should publish all of the interviews in a book,as always you set the tone very well, The first few pages warn that these enduring creatures may lie dormant but are never truly dead. They may be recalled to active life through the incantations presented in this book. It is through the recitation of these passages that the demons are given license to possess the living.